Hillary Clinton’s Social Media Campaign Backfires: #NotMyAbuela

Her social media campaign to reach Hispanic voters backfired and the hashtag #NotMyAbuela, as in not my grandmother, was born.

Everyone knows that securing a sizable chunk of the Latino vote is key to winning the U.S. presidency. That is why Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton on Wednesday sought to reach Latino voters by sharing the news about her daughter’s second pregnancy, according to The New York Times.

And then a content strategist posted 7 things Hillary Clinton has in common with your abuela, whichnotes how Clinton is “just like their abuelas, or grandmothers: She cares for all children. She reads to her grandchild before bedtime. She doesn’t tolerate disrespect,” writes the news outlet.

The campaign backfired and the hashtag #NotMyAbuela, as in not my grandmother, was born.

Her critics were not impressed. Soon, the hashtag #NotMyAbuela was circulating as a critique of what some saw as a tone-deaf move to pander to a powerful butmarginalized bloc of voters. Her critics pointed out that Mrs. Clinton did not grow up poor like their relatives, and was not separated from loved ones by country borders. Others just made their points with the magic of memes.

Mrs. Clinton is not the only politician who has attempted playful acknowledgment of Latino culture: Jeb Bush, a Republican contender whose wife is Mexican-American, sold a “guaca bowle” on his website, and supporters of Mrs. Clinton’s main challenger, Bernie Sanders, have long referred to him as #TioBernie on Twitter. (On Wednesday, Mr. Sanders’s campaign took steps to distance him from the hashtag.)

In Mrs. Clinton’s case, the Internet soon gave new currency to the word“Hispandering.”

What do you think about Clinton’s abuela campaign? Let us know in comments…